Emergency personnel investigate the scene of a shooting on westbound Highway 4 near the Railroad Ave. overcrossing in Pittsburg, Calif., on Wednesday, May 11, 2016. An apparent road rage incident turned into a shooting with two people being transported to the hospital for their injuries. One later died. The suspect vehicle fled the scene.

When last we checked in on Pittsburg regarding the scourge of freeway shootings, the news was encouraging but the outlook was uncertain.

That was 19 months ago, when the City Council approved $100,000 for cameras to monitor the stretch of Highway 4 that cuts through the city. It was a laudable bit of proactivity. But it raised more questions than it answered.

How much crime-fighting punch could four to six cameras pack? Wouldn’t this be a post-shooting investigative tool at best? Because similar shootings were occurring all over the East Bay, wouldn’t a regional approach be more effective? And even if such a multi-agency approach were deemed advisable, who could pull it off? Wouldn’t it be like herding cats?

Apparently not. Monday night, the Pittsburg City Council voted 5-0 in favor of adopting the Freeway Security Network Project, aimed at reducing gun violence on segments of Highway 4 and Interstate 80 in Contra Costa County. The partnership will include CalTrans, the California Highway Patrol and the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office, with Pittsburg acting as the lead agency.

“This is a huge deal,” said Mayor Dwaine “Pete” Longmire. “This is a game-changer.”

It was a game that needed changing. Between June 2015 and May 2016, there were 14 shootings on East Bay freeways, resulting in five fatalities. That prompted Pittsburg’s $100,000 expenditure on freeway cams — the city also has street cams — which police Chief Brian Addington said has resulted in the recovery of 162 stolen vehicles and 160 arrests.

The approach voted on Monday is far more comprehensive and integrated — and funded by a $3.5 million grant from CalTrans.

“Shots are fired,” said Mary Knox, senior deputy district attorney. “Shotspotter then will activate cameras and turn them in the direction of the gunfire and send an alert to our task force commander’s smart device. He then can log into the camera system in real time. He’ll have eyes on the freeway. He can actually move the cameras himself and zoom in on suspect vehicles. He can take screen shots of suspect vehicles, because shooters are generally getting off the freeway at the next exits, and then send that down to a freeway-adjacent law enforcement. So it’s a huge force multiplier.”

What’s not to like?

Well, two women from Oakland Privacy, a citizens coalition that endeavors to safeguard privacy, raised concerns about data that will be collected from the cameras and license plate readers.

“I do want you to be specific regarding retention, data storage and data-access sharing,” Tracy Rosenberg told the City Council. “To the best of my knowledge, Contra Costa County has a sanctuary policy. You may want to look at the implications of communicating large amounts of travel data to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”

“I know everyone says, ‘I have nothing to hide, why do I care if I’m being surveilled?’” said Susan Harman. “And I think probably everybody has something to hide, whether it’s something illegal or just something you’d rather not have everyone know about. You’re driving to meet your mistress, or if you’re seeing a psychiatrist.”

Knox: “All of the data that is recorded by the system, it goes into this wireless backbone that will connect the whole system together and will be stored on servers that are specific to that data. Here at the Pittsburg Police Department, they will be their own individual servers.”

Me: Privacy is a valid concern and data collected should be handled with care. But one, this project is of significant public benefit, and two, reasonable expectation of privacy in this wired world of ours died with the Flintstones.

We’re at risk whether we’re packing our smart phone, or shopping online and entering a credit card when we find something we like, or hopping on Facebook to let the world know we’re at the Wax Museum. The other day I was at Safeway and spied a small green tag advising me that I was on camera.

That’s the price we pay for the conveniences of a wired world. What happened in Pittsburg on Monday lowered the price of traveling East Bay freeways.

Gary Peterson is a sports content creator for the Bay Area News Group. His prior assignments included 31 years as a sports columnist, serving as a general assignment news reporter, covering courts and writing a metro column before finding his way back to sports.